Check-controlled apparatus



E. D. POLHAMUS ET AL CHECK CONTROLLED APPARATUS Filec! Jan. 51. 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwuanlow:

3515,%WMM/ E. D. POLHAMUS ET AL Jan. 22 1924.

CHECK CONTROLLED APPARATUS s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. :51 192s Q0 02 mu;

E. D. FQLHAMUS AL CHECK CONTROLLED APBMZATUS Filed Jan; '31. 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Jan. 22, 1924.

siren EDWARD D. POLHAMUS, (BF ASHLAND, AND JAMES W. LUSBY, OF GRAYSON, KENTUCKY.

CHECK-GONTB-OLLED APPARATUS.

Application filed January 31, 1923. Serial No. 616,106.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWARD D. POL- HAHUS and JAMES W. LUsBY, citizens of the United States of America, and residents of A shland, in the county of Boyd and State of Kentucky. and Grayson, in the county of Carter and State of Kentucky respectively, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Check-Controlled Apparatus, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to check or coin controlled vending machines, and has for an object the provision of novel means for controlling article delivering mechanisms the said controlling mechanisms being released by coin actuated devices in order that a coin of a certain denomination must be delivered to the machine prior to thetime it may be operated for delivery or the merchandise.

It-is an Object of this invention primarily to produce a machine capable of dispensing lead pencils, and owing to the painted condi-' tion of the usual lead pencil and the fact thatthey are not always round, necessitates certain construction peculiarly fitting the device for the dis ribution of such pencil.

However, the inventors'donot wish to be limited with respect to the use or the merchandise to be dispensed, as by slight changes in proportions and the like, the ma chine can be iitted to dispense cigars or other r-mnmodities. i I

It is a further object of this invention to produce a machine of the character indicated in which, the pencils are delivered by gravity to a. dispensing ejector by which the pencils are successively taken from a chute and delivered through a discharge opening to a trough where they will be within reach of the-purchaser, and in this connection, it is an object of the invention to provide. a novel dispensing wheel which be operated without unduly disturbthe pencils remaining in the chute, a condition which minimizes the power required for operating the dispensing element.

It is a further object of this invention to provide means for retaining the dispensing element against movement, except the same be tripped by a coin of proper weight and size as to its diameter and thickness, and the device'is described assuming it to be used for actuation byan ordinary fivecent piece or nickel.

It is a further object of this invention to produce novel means for locking and releasing the dispensing wheel, or means which is held locked by gravity and releasedby weight overcoming the weight of the device which holds it locked; and the said invention furthermore contemplates the provision of novel means for preventing fraud or the It is a furtherobject of this invention to produce mechanism of the character indicated which will be simple in construction and whichcan be, to a great extent, manufactured by the stamping processes, so that the costof producing the device will be comparatively inexpensive.

"lVith the foregoing and other objects in view, as will appear duringthe description of the mechanisms and their association with other parts. the invention consists inthe de tails,- o f-construction and in the'combination andarrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing' the invention 111 detail. ref

erence will be had to the accom )a-nvin drawings forming part of this application, wherein like characters denote correspond ing parts in the several-views,' and in which Figure, 1 illustrates a view in perspective of a vending machine embodying the invention:

Figure 2 illustrates a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the coin tube and the control for the exit thereof;

Figure 3 illustratesa view ofthe dispensing element. here shown in the form of a cylinder;v

Figure t illustrates a perspective view of the coin tube mounting and the detent for the distributine 'element associated with the coin ejector;

Figure 5 illustrates a sectional view of the coin tube onthe line 5-5 of Fig. 4:;

Figure 6 illustrates a sectional view of the coin tube on the line 6 6 of Fig. 4:;

one end of the casing pai'tly'in section; and

Figure 11 illustrates a sectional View of the distributingdrum and the casing with relation to which it is mounted.

In these drawings, 15 denotes a casing which is preferably of ornamental configuration, the same having a cover 16 that may be provided with a suitable lock to guard against its being opened by unauthorized persons, and the rear wall of the saiolcas inghas a'do'or 17 by Which access may be had to theinterior thereof." The casing also has a coin drawer 18 which may be provided with a suitable lock and the drawer is in position to receive coins from the coin tube, as will be seen from an inspection of the drawings. The casing has a shaft 19 secured in it, and a dispensing cylinder 20 is rotatably mounted on it in any appropriate way with suitable bearings such as 21, in order that the cylinder may be turned when the merchandise is to be dispensech The cylinder has a handle 22 pro jecting fro m its end through a segmental slot 23 iii-the end wall of the casing and a segmental'slot 24 coinciding therewith in a housing 2'5at the end of the casing.

The cylindrical member'has a longitudinally. extending seat T 26 that is of such depth as to receive a pencil, and in forming the cylinder and seat, the material is preferably shaped to produce approximately a knife edge 27 and this portion partially embraces the pencil 28 lodged in the cavity or seat, in order that when the cylinder is turned to eject the pencil, the edge 27iwill force its way under the pencil just above the one which is lodged in the cavity and'thus retain the nextsucceeding'pencil in the chute 29 until the cylinder has been turned to discharge the first pencil and has been restored to position when the seat or cavity is under the chute, when it will be in position to receive the pencil. It has been foun'd'in practice that thisarrangement of parts'prevents undue movement to the pencils that are in the chute, thus making it unnecessary to raise the pencils to any extent in" order to produce a clearance for the movement of the cylinder as it is rotated.

The cylinder has a latch engaging element 8t) and elements 31 and 82 which serve to engage abutments within the casing to limit the rotary motion of the cylinder in two directions, as will presently appear.

The latch engaging element is preferably provided with'a camm'ing'surface which will ride over the nose 34 of the latch 35 when the cylinder is being returned to its normal position as it-is illustrated in F ig. 9. The latch 35 is pivotally mounted on a bracket BGstationary on any part ofthe casing or interior mechanism of the said casing, and the; said latch has a link 37 pivota-lly connected to it and to a coin tube 38. The coin tube is preferably provided with its side wall slightly converging at the bottom as shown at 39, and these converging portions form supports for the edges of the nickels which travel down the tube by gravity, since the said tube is mounted in an inclined position, as will present-1y appear.

The tube has a cutaway portion at 40 which will permit coins of thinner gage than a nickel to escape into the return trough 41, that has its discharge end 42 com- Inunicating with the slot 43 formed in the casing, in order that coins of smaller gage than those'that travel in the tube shall escape from the tube and be delivered to the person who erroneously inserted the coin of improper denomination. One sideofthe return trough is preferably provided with a flange 44 that extends transversely of the coin tube in order that a coin may be directed to the return trough.

The coin tube has its receiving end in registry with-a coin slot 45 formed in an element 46 attached to the exterior of the casing, and hence coins which are deposited in' the slot'will find their way into the coin tube and operate the device, as willpresmay appear;

A'bracket 47 is anchored inany appropriate-manner to the inner Wall of the easing, and it has ears 48 in spaced relation to eachother that constitute guides between which the coin tube 38 is'movable, it being shown that the said coin tube is oscillatable on a pivot 49 which extends through the bracket 47.

A bracket 50 is also secured in any appropriate way to the interior of the casing, and a lever 51 is oscillatably mounted on the said bracket by the pivot 52.

The lever 51 is connected by a link 53 to the coin tube and hence the movement of the lever 51is connnunicated to the coin tube. The lever 51 has a weight 54 removably secured to its inner end and the weight is effective to pull the outer end of the cointube downwardly, a condition which results in elevating the inner end ofthe coin tube with the link 37 and raising the latch 35 to lock the cylinder against rotary movement. The parts are so proportioned that the gravity of the weight 54 and the parts associated with it is overcome by the weight of a'nickel when the nickel has reached the inner end of the coin tube; In" other words, if a nickel i deposited in the coin tube and reaches the inner end thereof, its weight will be such as to cause the inner end of the coin tube to move downwardly to the dotted line position, and this movement will result in forcing the latch downwardly to release the cyllinder, and thereafter, the cylinder may be turned by operating the handle 22, as will be apparent. When the cylinder has been operated to an extent that will cause the discharge of the pencil from the groove therein, the coin will be released from the coin tube and the weight 54 will then be effective to pull the outer end of the coin tube downwardly, thus raising the inner end to an extent that the latch 35 will again operate to prevent rotation of the cylinder, and hence no further distribution of the merchandise can be effected until a repetition of the operation is produced by the insertion of another coin.

It is desirable to arrest the coin at the inner end of the coin tube in order that its weight will prove effective to operate the parts as stated, for if the coin were allowed to pass rapidly from the coin tube, it would fail to impart motion to the locking mecha nism to release the cylinder.

In order to provide means for arresting the coin at the inner end of the tube, the said inner end of the tube is mounted in operative relation to a partition or post 55 that has a slot 56 formed in it. The post has guides 57 and 58 in which a plate 59 is slidable, and the said plate has a. clearance which exposes a certain area of the end of the slot of the coin'tu'be, in order that a coin passing down thetube will partially emerge through the slot of the post, but the plate willengage the periphery of the coin and prevent its complete emergence from the coin tube. The plate, however, may be moved upwardly to free the coin and this is done at a time when the cylinder locking mechanism is to be reset.

As shown in the drawing, the plate 59 has a spring 60 connected to it through the medium of a lug 61 and the opposite end of the spring is connected to a bracket 62 on the post 55. The bracket constitutes an abutment for the lower edge of the spring to limit its downward movement,while at the same time it constitutes an anchorage for the spring, as stated, the said spring being operative to hold the said plate normally in engagement with the bracket. The plate furthermore is slidable in certain relation to an abutment 63 which is anchored to the inner wall'of the casing and in position to be engaged by the element 32 of the cylinder, the said element constituting a cam which engages the lower end of the plate 59 as the cylinder is rotated, serving to raise the plate against the action of the spring to adegree which will permit the coin to escape from the end of the coin tube, and

the said element 32 furthermore contacts the abutment 63 to limit the motion of the cylinder in one direction.

The element 31 is intended to enact with a bracket 64 to limit the rotary motion of the cylinder in the opposite direction. The cyl inder is returned to its normal position by a spring 65 that has its end anchored as at 66 to the floor of the casing, and the upper end thereof is connected to the cylinder through means of a lug or other device 67, it being the function of the springto exert a pull on the cylinder to rotate it against the action of the manually operated handle, so that when the handle is released, the spring will return the parts to normal positions.

Should a coin smaller than a nickel be inserted in the coin tube and should it fail to be discharged through the opening in the bottom of thetube, it would either escape at the end of the coin tube or might be arrested by the plate, but it would be'of less weight than that necessary to oscillate the coin tube and therefore. the dispensing cylinder would not be released and it could not be operated. Upon the insertion of a nickel, it would travel down the coin tube and its impact on the coin of smaller denomination would result in dislodging the said coin and force it from the end of the coin tube.

A plate 68 is stationed in an inclined position at the rear end of the moneybox thereabove and in a position under the discharge end or" the coin tube so that coins falling from the tube will strike the inclined plate and be deflected toward the front end of the coin drawer or box. l The rear'door 17 of the casing has a latch 70 pivotally connected to it, and the said latch hooks over the edge of the flange 71 within the casing, and thus the rear door ofthe casing will be held closed. The latch may be operated from the interior of the casingby inserting the hand through the opening occupied by the cash drawer when the said cashdrawer is removed, and thus the latch may be disengaged from the flange so that the rear door may be opened. 7

The upper part of the casing is formed into a hopper or reservoir 72 which may contain a supply of pencils, and an attendant may fill the chute periodically to main tain the supply therein.

The slot 73 in the casing is in such position't'hat pencils will gravitate therethrough when the cylinder has been turned to carry the pencils to the slot and said pencils will lodge on the concave shelf 74 formed by the casing.

We claim:

1. In check controlled apparatus, a movably mounted dispensing device. a latch forholding the dispensing device inoperative, a coin tube, means for oscillatably mounting the coin tube, a weighted element connected to the tube on one side of its fulcrum to overcome the'weight of that part oi the tube on the opposite side of the tulcrum, meansconnected to the unweighted end of the tube for moving the latch to release tlie dispensing device, a guard at the end of the tube for arresting a check at the end of the tube to permit the weight of the check to overcome the gravity of the weight, means for slidably mounting the guard, means for limiting the downward movement of the guard, means for holding the guard innormal position and in engagement with said means, andmeans on the dispensing device carried into engagement with the guard for moving it when the dispensing device has etl'ected adelivery, thereby releasing the check and permitting the latch to become operative when the dispensing device is returned to normal position.

2. In a check controlled apparatus, a movably mounted dispensing device, a latch for holding the dispensing device inoperative, a coin tube, means for oscillatably 1nount ing the coin tube, a weighted element connected to the tube on one side of its ful crum to overcome the weight of that part of the tube on the-opposite side of the fulcrum, means connected to the unweighted end of, the tube for moving the latch to release the dispensing device, a guard at the end of the tube for arresting a check at the end of the tube to permit the weight of the check to overcome the gravity of the weight, means for slidably mounting the guard, means for limiting the downward movement of the guard, means for holding the guard in normal position and in engagement with said means, means on the dispensing device carried into engagement with the guard for moving it when the dispensing device has effected a delivery, thereby releasing the check and permitting the latch to become operative when the dispensing device is returned to normal position, and means for returning the dispensing device to normal position.

In a check controlled apparatus, a movably mounted dispensing device, a latch for holding the dispensing device inoperative, a coin tube, means for oscillatably mounting the coin tube, a weighted element connected to the tube on one side of its fulcrum toovercome the weight of that part of the tube on the opposite side of the fulcrum, means connected to the unweighted end of the tube for moving the latch to release the dispensingdevice, a guard at the end of the tube for arresting a check at the end of the tube to permit the weight of the check to overcome the gravity of the weight, means for slidablv mounting the guard, means for limiting the downward movement of the guard, means for holding the guard in normal position and iii-engagement with said means,

means on the dispensing device carried into engagement with the guard for moving it when the dispensing device has effected a delivery, thereby releasing the check and permitting the latch to become operative when the dispensing device is returned to normal. position, means for returning the dispensing device to normal position, and means for limiting the movement of thedispensing device on its return to normal position. I

4. In check controlled apparatus, a movably mounted dispensing device,-a latch for holding the dispensing device inoperative, a coin tube, means for oscillatably mounting the coin tube, a weighted element connected to the tube on one side of its fulcrum to overcome the weight of that part of the tube on the opposite side of the fulcrum, means connected to the unweighted end of the tube for moving the latch to release the dispensing device, a guard at the end of the tube for arresting a check at the end of the tube to permit the weight of the check to overcome the gravity of the weight, means for slidably mounting the guard, means for lim iting the downward movement of the guard, means forholding the guard in normal position and in engagement with said means, a cam on the dispensing device movable in the path of-the guard and operative to lift the guard when the dispensing device has effected delivery, thereby releasing the check and'permitting the latch to become operative when the dispensing device is returned to normal position.

In a check-controlled apparatus, a movably mounted dispensing device, a latch for holding the dispensing device inoperative, a coin-tube, means for oscillatably mounting the coin tube, a weighted element connected to the tube on one side of its fulcrum to overcome the weight of that part of the tube on the opposite side of the fulcrum, means connected to the unweighted end of the tube for moving the latch to release the dispensing device, a guard at the end of the tube for arresting a check at the end of the tube to permit the weight of the check to overcome the gravity of'the weight, means for slidably mounting the guard, means for limitingthe downward movement of the guard,

means for holding the guard in normal position and in engagement with said:means, a cam on the dispensing device movable in the path of the guard and operative to lift the guard when the dispensing device has eii'ected delivery, thereby releasing the check and permitting the latch to become operative when the dispensing device is returned to normal position, and means for returning the dispensing device to normalposition.

6. In a check controlled apparatus, a movably mounted dispensing device, a latch for holdingthe dispensing device inoperative, a

coin tube, means for oscillatably mounting the coin tube a weighted element connected to the tube on one side of its fulcrum to overcome the weight of that part of the tube on the opposite side of the fulcrum, means connected to the unweighted end 01 the tube for moving the latch to release the dispensing device, a guard at the end of the tube t'or arrestin a check at the end of the tube to permit the weight of the check to overcome the gravity of the weight, means for slidably mounting the guard, means for limiting the downward movement of the guard, means for holding the guard in normal popensing device on its return to normal posig tion.

' EDWVARD D. POLHAMUS.

JAMES W. LUSBY. 

